NEWS >>

Canberra Airport unveils designs for international departures lounge

Canberra Airport in Australia has unveiled designs for an A$18m (US$13.7m) international departures lounge and arrivals hall that will open to passengers on September 21, 2016.

Speaking at the unveiling on April 27, Canberra Airport managing director Stephen Byron said, “What you are seeing today is so much more than just revealing some interiors. For us, and Australia’s national capital, it is a step closer to the realization of a dream that has been 18 years in the making. It is the final critical piece of the spectacular evolution from little more than a shed in a sheep paddock we bought in 1998, where they used to cart the rubbish out the front door, to allowing international visitors direct access to Australia’s national capital, and putting Canberra firmly on the world map.

“The space set aside will be integrated seamlessly with the existing airport infrastructure and transformed into a gateway truly befitting our national capital. I’ve said it before, but we simply cannot overstate the impact that international flights have on this city and this region. Canberra is truly the airport for the whole of the southern part of New South Wales, and will become the international airport of choice for a large proportion of people who live immediately south and west of Sydney. It will be easier, more cost-effective and quicker to fly internationally from Canberra.”

According to Byron, the design of the new lounge is akin to the quality and standard expected from airline club lounges and will feature the “best of design, furnishings and amenities”.

The interiors for the 29,600ft² departure lounge and 25,800ft² arrivals hall have been designed by Guida Moseley Brown Architects, who designed the airport terminal, and local firm Construction Control will build the project with 120 jobs created during construction.

Guida Moseley Brown described the architecture for the new departure lounge and arrival hall as building upon “the dynamic quality of the existing terminal’s main hall, incorporating folding ceiling panels and skylights to create a generous, contemporary and light filled space.” The Canberra-based firm added, “The design’s sculptural quality celebrates the beauty of aviation technology and the dynamic atmosphere of contemporary travel”.

The departure lounge will have capacity for up to one million international passengers per year and will include state-of-the-art business and media lounges, private meeting rooms, an expansive bar and café dining area,
and a variety of different seating and meeting areas, ranging from formal business oriented spaces to relaxed social and private spaces. The use of innovative seating modules will provide visitors with a sense of privacy and intimacy, while providing the power
and data connections required by the
modern traveler.

“We will have new food and beverage facilities in the international departures area and we recently closed a tender for the operation of duty-free shopping,” said Byron. “We are working closely with the Australian Border Force, the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources and the Office of Transport Security toward the implementation of customs, quarantine and immigration facilities. We have delivered the best domestic terminal facility in the country, and will deliver the best international terminal to match it.”

The first international flight will be with Singapore Airlines and it will arrive in Canberra from Singapore on September 21 at 8.50am before departing for Wellington, New Zealand, at 10.15am.